Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums should not run for reelection

There’s rumor and talk – uncomfirmed – that Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums is considering a run for reelection as Mayor of Oakland. Mayor Dellums should not run again.

In all of the post war, post 1964 Civil Rights Amendment history of Oakland, there has never been a more unpopular Mayor of Oakland than Ron Dellums. The reasons for Oaklanders dislike for Ron Dellums the Mayor, but not Ron Dellums the person, is Dellums now legendary failure to been seen as a leader. It started even before the Oscar Grant Murder in 2009 and the riots that followed, and really has its roots in the formation of Dellums’ own plan for Oakland.

The plan was formed after a number of task force groups were formed. But Dellums error was in an insular approach where only supporters and cronies were invited to staff them. Then, rather than have the task force documents available online for everyone to see, Dellums’ people placed them in the Oakland Public Library, thereby assuring their invisibility from ready public view in the 21st Century.

The next error was in Dellums lack of understanding and desire of how to issue a message via both new and old media. Many Dellums staffers have openly complained to me about his dislike for the media. Those persons have worked to change Dellums, and have made major headway, but its too little too late. Councilmember Jean Quan, for all of her faults, does at least “get” media and constantly issues her weekly newsletter, weekly.

Dellums failure to be the “first voice of Oakland” on so many issues has cemented his fate. But beyond that, his wishy-washy handling of the Deborah Egderly matter was a case study in Dellums failure to make a clear, swift, decisive move. First she was in, then out, then in, then out.

If that wasn’t enough, Dellums failure to come out and make a statement right after the murder of Oscar Grant was horrible. But even worse was the legion of errors made during the Oscar Grant controversy. So many that it led to this rant by Hip Hop Journalist Davey D:

Davey D speaks for a lot of people. Again, it’s not personal, its the business of running the City of Oakland that’s the focus.

If Mayor Dellums runs for reelection, he has to answer for what must be the most draconian and expensive parking fine and enforcement system in America. A system that has allowed City of Oakland Parking Enforcement workers to tickets almost at will, causing more Oaklanders to get more than five tickets, and making them car tow candidates. Taking their cars away at the time they need them to find work.

Why?

Oakland has a 17 percent unemployment rate. And where Dellums would point to the $65 million in economic stimulus money gained, evidence shows that a good portion of that money is not being used to create new jobs or save private sector jobs, but to maintain City of Oakland government jobs. In other words, to help the City of Oakland make payroll

That’s not an economic stimulus.

But the main reason Mayor Dellums should not run for reelection is that his certain election loss would be an embarrassing end to a legendary political career.